WE ARE CREATORS

--- "We are creators" --- Have read this somewhere and it's a good line to remember too, especially good to tell a friend who now is feeling quite down in the dumps with her bland boring day... thinking that life is just one heavy stack of tough luck. And believes that there’s nothing else one can do bout the situation.

Well, I hope that she's reading this now because that line tells us that we need not look far because we can hope to turn things around. How? With our innate and inherent -- creativity.

If you’ll ask Mr. Webster, he’ll tell you that the word is about – ingenuity, cunning, intelligence, inventiveness, cleverness, resourcefulness, and imagination.

Wow! We’re all that? And it’s right here in our hands to work out something better for ourselves? So who says that it’s out there whatever-it-is that we need to be or have to make good?! Didn't he get it that 'out there' is nothing compared to what's 'in here' --- in us, in you, in every breathing living person on this perceived 'cursed' planet?!

So why do we think or behave otherwise? Why instead do we spend so much time bewailing the difficulty of our days and times when it isn’t really so hopeless as we perceive it to be? Who’s been pulling the wool over our eyes?! We can actually do something about bad days and bad lives; change alter or transform it -----from difficulty to immense wealth of and in experiences, challenges, opportunities, riches, learning, and wisdom. And this is not just all about the material.

Why not give that a thought, my good friend? And while you’re at it, think about this --- We are indeed ‘creators’ created in the image of God – THE CREATOR! So why not give life our best shot? It's His Will that we should. And if you know your God, you should know this to be true.

But if inspite of this you still think you can't ... I might as well bonk you on the head with a block of ice. The summer heat must be getting to your brain, best friend! :-)
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DO OR DO NOT. THERE IS NO TRY.

DO OR DO NOT. THERE IS NO TRY. (Yoda, character in the movie, The Empire Strikes Back) This line fascinates me most. And I love that movie. It seems so simple, isn’t it? He makes it sound so easy. ‘Love that small guy.

Don’t we always start out considering first so many odd things before making decisions? It’s like standing at the door of opportunity but having only one foot in. I think it’s fear that’s mainly eating us up – fear of the unknown, of rejection, of failing, of being different, of someone’s displeasure, of losing, of censure -- So many fears, normal maybe, but we cower hugely in its presence.

But after doing the drill and considering things the way you should, what's stopping you from taking the plunge? What's stopping you from pursuing that dream?

Like the little guy says ‘Do’ and get to discover the surprises in store for you. ‘Do not’ and get to miss out on what could be yours to enjoy. ‘Try’ is a feeble attempt at neither sanity nor wisdom. It's hesitation at the door of opportunity. The middle ground is not always the safer ground. You want fireworks --- light the fire!

May the force be with you.
Or better yet this way.... May God be with you.
Now go for gold!
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THE BLESSING OF EASTER IS OURS

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The Lord has risen. Once again we are reminded of our temporal lives and how we owe it all to Him --- forgiveness, comfort, salvation, mercy, love ---- all restored to us now with the risen Lord.

After we have done our reflection, introspection, meditation, reevaluation, and refocusing of our minds, hearts, and souls... I guess it is now time to get on with our lives with our fresh new start. We're given a clean slate to start all over again.

Here's a beautiful prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. May this lead us to walk with our Lord in our respective life journeys.

PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen
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And if you're looking for a love story, His is the greatest love of all.

Rejoice in the blessings of Easter. God bless you!

IT'S ALL ABOUT THIS ONE GREAT LOVE

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I was watching the news on TV and there was this interview. The question was 'In your observance of the Holy Week, what are you planning to give up?' And the replies came as -- not eating my favorite chocolate cake, not do any computer chats, not do this and that etc etc etc. All well and good if that's how they feel about it. So does that mean that after the Holy Week is over, they're back at what they love most doing? That's okay too, nobody's judging.

But do we really understand the significance of all these rituals or tradition of the Holy Week observance? Well, it's all about this one small solitary guy who was so dead set in doing what his father wanted him to do. Even if it meant ending up on the cross. But why? Because he loves his father so much and because he also believed in what his father believed in .... that people were worth saving and were worth dying for.

But were they? And thousands of years after... Are we?

The Holy Week is not just a one or three-day thing. Those are the externalities of it. The external rituals of man. It is good serving a particular purpose... but what is truly essential is what thoughts, feelings, insights, perceptions are contained in there in your heart. Giving up chocolates for a day or two doesn't count if we continue with bad habits or treat our fellowmen with meanness suspicion deceit disrespect or tyranny the rest of our days. Giving up computer time on Good Friday doesn't mean a thing if we don't do our part everyday in our lives to take out the garbage as told, obey traffic rules, observe courtesy in public places, and stop mocking the poor, physically challenged, and the ignorant.

But it will matter if we think, speak, act in a manner consistent to our values and beliefs everyday of our lives.... everyday..... not just when the Holy Week comes to season. And this too is true... that it comes not just as a religious tradition but as a reminder to us all to again reflect reevaluate our lives, and to remember that if God thinks that we are worthy and worth saving....... then we must be. And what greater love can there be than to give up one's life for one's dearest beloved.
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FINDING THE GOOD IN GOODBYES

I said this to my friend who was hurting from a breakup... "Find the good in goodbye." "That real?" she asked. "Yea, why shouldn't it not be??!" I replied.

Oh I know what you're going to say next... that it hurts, that you can't imagine the pain, that it was my life! Oh but I know that too.

We all have said our goodbyes and have been said goodbye to at some point or another. And we cried, got furiously mad, broke some glasses or punched pillows, went wallowing in self-pity (now that is pitiful!), and moaned in desperation (that is even more eeooyyywww.. Nothing can be that hopeless!) We all did that and some are right now.

Goodbye is a word we'd rather not hear especially when we're feeling top of the hill, gliding on cloud 9, or riding the crest of happiness. We just feel that this could go on and on -- we just don't want it to end. But as usual life is what it is --- things do come to an end, like it or not.

Goodbye is made up of two words.... good and bye. The thing is we keep focusing on the last part of it... the 'bye'. The End. That's the one that gets through to us and hits us like a ten-inch brick wall. It breaks us. We hurt.

So how do we cope with that? Simple. Let's try something else. If you know why goodbyes are being said, you're half way there to being its survivor. Like this...

-- goodbye to that two-timing jerk out of your life
-- goodbye to overstaying relatives cos they were messing up your room all the time
-- goodbye to a friend who was hitting you in the back anyway
-- goodbye to an abusive father or husband
-- goodbye to bad memories that keep holding you back
-- goodbye to that company who can't learn how to treat their employees right
-- and etc etc etc...

Because the good in goodbye tells you that --- be glad that things happened as they did or you wouldn't have known your own strength or saw the naked truth... or acquire the faith that so pleases our God.

So the next time someone says goodbye to you or that you should say goodbye to someone .... find the good in that goodbye. With understanding comes healing. Healing allows you to move on with your life.

LOSE SOME FIGHTS TO WIN

Heard this somewhere...
......'you have to lose some fights so you can learn to win'.....

Didn't quite get that first time I heard it. Lose not just one but several? But first what does that mean by losing a fight? Because my lolo (grandfather) once told me that losing means just one thing -- giving up so easily or losing fire within. I've always thought myself a fighter; learned it from my mom. She fought the good fight with life's turbulence and strife. Did it with her own quiet steady courage. She never failed to amaze me as she went through the day caring for her family's needs, working hard and praying just as hard or even harder. Never gave up down to her last dying breath. My hero.

I begun to think and looked back to my own battles. And you know what..... that line is correct!

At several points in the past I gave away the fight but for a reason... a reason which the heart alone knows. It didn't make me miserable as I thought it would. I realize it now that it never does when you know in your heart that something else is there waiting for its moment. One lost fight does not make a failure, not even with several more. Just as long as you still have the fight in you. It's like you simply stepped back a few steps for the need to recharge energize or evaluate your options. It's the act of one who understands that sometimes it is smarter to kick on the brakes before possibly careening down the slope to disaster foolishly without a thought. So I slowed down to a full stop. I always did that when there was a need to.

To make a long story short.. I'm glad that I did. When I let go the fight it may have seemed that the problem won over me. But I knew better and waited for the right time. It came and I was ready for it...... with the same quiet steady strength of my mom. Now I understand her even much better. She knew how to fight..... taught me how with her own battles.

You have to lose some fights so you can learn to win.

LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU WHILE YOU'RE MAKING OTHER PLANS

That line in the blog title was taken from the movie, 'Mr. Holland's Opus'. I loved this movie and have seen this 2 or 3 times already and probably will be seeing it again... and again. And again.

It's true, you know, just when you get into deep plans in pursuit of a dream or goal the rest of your life unfolds. If you think that life is only about that journey to a dream, it's not. Life is also this....

-----when you wake up in the morning, drag your body off the bed, head off to the kitchen to make yourself a hot cup of coffee. Then you probably will be looking for the morning paper to keep tabs on what's happening to the world outside. Wifey comes in and tells you that son goofed up in class yesterday and his teacher wants to talk with Mom and Dad. You both then agree to meet with the teacher later in the afternoon. But you notice that you are running late and have to get dressed for work. At this point, your eldest daughter comes bouncing into the room flashing a piece of paper and gushing over it. It's the university in New York saying that her application was approved and that she could start the semester coming up in September. Already?!! Your wife looking like time just stood still is shocked. You understand because both of you weren't expecting it to be this soon. But you wrench yourself from the moment and rush through your morning as a dozen meetings await you at the office. You simply say 'Later' and head out to the car.

Life is what happens to you day after day after day. Sometimes it has nothing to do with your dreams at all. Sometimes it's just the ordinary mundane events in a day or time spent with family, friends, and people. Sometimes it's simply sitting by the shore looking out to a beautiful sunset. Sometimes it's just being you in the moment playing with your dogs. Things which many of us consider a waste of time.

That is life. That is what happens to you while you are making plans for the future.. working hard to build your dream house.. planning your next masterpiece.. building your career.. planning something.

So what's my point?

Simple. Live life with open arms embracing everything that's in it. Not focusing only on those things which you think is worthwhile or perceive it to be. Life is more than that. It is all of that! Life is the whole tapestry of you. Savor the passage of time as it ticks off in hours, days, weeks, months, years. Sing out every note in your life symphony. Dance to the beating of your own drum and not somebody else's. Reflect on the wonders of creation - try to understand the heart of your God. And importantly, have a grateful heart for the miracle that is -- you!
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Have a blessed weekend coming up ahead, folks! Make it count.

WORKING MOMS - IT'S NOT ABOUT ABILITY BUT RATHER IT'S ABOUT AVAILABILITY

The times of my life. This is just one of those memories..... Wrote this some years ago. I'm bringing it here for my lady friends.. working moms in their own respective corners of the world. You're fantastic, ladies!
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When my three daughters were just perky kids running here and there all over the house and I, as a working mom, was working my butt off at the office, there were days when the maid would call me up and tell me that one of the kids was running a fever or the other wasn’t eating her food, or the eldest won’t go to school.

Well, in matters of illness, I’d have no second thoughts bout rushing home. My boss would have to put up with that one, like it or not. Other than that, I’d have the maid bring the errant little one to the phone and we’d talk. In this instance, the naughty little angel would spill her heart out in an endless chatter only a mother would understand .. I’d be there glued to my seat listening while the clock was ticking off the minutes like a taxi meter. Yet it was worth it all. I knew she felt better when the conversation finally ended. So did I.

I wasn’t trained to be a mother; no woman is ever prepared to become one. Even if you have seen your mother, aunts, grandmother, and lady friends do it… it’s never until you are in it yourself that you learn.

But the one great lesson I have learned is this --- be available. No matter if you’re late in the night preparing for a sales meeting the following morning, when she comes to you for whatever reason – stop what you’re doing, listen and be with her. She’s the number one person in your life --- so let her know it! Let her know how much precious she is to you.. that she is the center of your universe.. that she makes your world spin happily. Because she is!

In my case, with three daughters.. they know that they are my life -- that they are God's gift to me... that because of them I am a frantic, frenetic, basket of frazzled nerves, with a dried up purse but a happy contented working mom!! Won't have it any other way. But of course it won't harm if I had a big fat paycheck too. :-)

You can’t be Perfect Mom, but you can be Available Mom! It's just a matter of choice. And a choice like that is certainly perfect, no matter how you look at it. --------------

There's a nice weekend coming up ahead, Working Moms..... make it count! Bless you.